Registering for the Pension Portal

Information you need to register:

Please note: If you don't have access to a mobile phone, you won't be able to register.

To create your Pension Portal account, you will need:

1. Your date of birth
2. Your National Insurance number
3. A mobile phone, and either:
4. The name of your current employer (if you're still working in the Civil Service), the year you retired (if you're a pensioner member) OR the year you left the scheme (if you're a deferred member).

Choose your username and password:

Try to make these memorable, as you'll need them every time you log into the Pension Portal.

1. Create a username

Please note: Your username must be unique, It cannot be an email address and must:

• contain between 5 and 32 characters
• contain no spaces
• contain no special characters (anything on a keyboard that is not a number or a letter)

2. Create a password
Your password must include: 

• At least 8 characters
• contain at least 1 uppercase character (A-Z)
• contain at least 1 lowercase character (a-z)
• contain at least 1 number (0-9)
• contain at least 1 of these special characters: # $ % @ &  

IMPORTANT: Keep a record of both your username and password

Enter your email address:

Enter the email address you’d like us to send your account activation code to. You can amend your personal details in the future using the ‘Your Account’ section of the ‘Your Pension Benefits Dashboard’, once you've registered for the Pension Portal.

• We recommend using a personal email account in case you move organisation or leave the Civil Service.
• GSI email addresses cannot be used.

NOTE: We'd recommend using a personal email address rather than your Civil Service email address

Activating your account:

We'll send a six-digit verification code to the email address you entered in Step 4. You should receive this within two or three minutes. Once you receive the email, enter the verification code when prompted on the 'Create your account' screen. 

Emails about the Pension Portal come from mssmail@mycsp.co.uk. This is an automated email and is not monitored. 

If you don't receive your activation email:
1. Check your junk mail/spam folder
2. Select 'allow sender' or mark emails from that address as 'not junk'

Set up two-factor authentication:

Secure your account by using a device you own (for example, a mobile phone) to set up a second level of security. We'll send a code to that device that you enter to access your account.

You can choose to either:

• Receive an SMS (text) message with an access code to your phone number, or
• Use an authenticator app (that you've previously installed) on a trusted mobile device to generate an access code

Please note: If you don't have access to a mobile phone, you will not be able to register.

SMS (text) message
Enter the phone number you'd like us to send the text message to (including your country code - for example, +44 for the UK) and click 'Send code'. It will be from ‘CSPS Portal’ and should come through within a few minutes. When you receive it, enter the code and click 'Submit'. 

If you don't receive a text message, click on the 'Didn't receive a message? Send again' link.

What is an authenticator app?
An authenticator app is a mobile application that provides an extra layer of security to your online accounts by generating time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs). These passwords are used for two-factor authentication (2FA) and help protect your accounts from unauthorized access.

How does the authenticator app work?
When you enable two-factor authentication on a website or service, you usually have the option to use an authenticator app. Once enabled, the app generates a unique six-digit code that refreshes every 30 seconds. When you log in to your account, you'll be prompted to enter this code along with your regular password. The app and the service you're logging into are synchronized, so they both generate the same code at the same time.

Using your Authenticator app for the Pension Portal
Open your already-installed authentication app and scan the QR code that appears on the screen. A six-digit code should then appear in your app. When you have it, enter it and click 'Submit'.